# Ugh. Don't buy a Colibri Maui lighter.



## KaChong (Jan 1, 2012)

A year ago I bought a Colibri Maui. I had a good night of Blackjack in Vegas while enjoying some delicious free bourbon while smoking a nice Anejo. Decided to treat myself to a cute looking Colibri lighter at one of the Davidoff shops. I liked the integral punch and automatic cover. I reasoned that the cover would keep pocket lint out of the burner.

About a couple months into my use of the thing some linkage went askew so I disassembled it and put the linkage back in place. I decided to fix another issue that I found annoying. The stupid thing kept giving me a little zap every time I struck a flame so I put in a little grounding wire to connect one of the ends of the piezo to the burner head.

Several months later the flame got really lazy so I disassembled it again to find a little bit of tubing had cracked and wasn't conducting the full poof of gas to the burner head. Luckily I had a some Tygon tubing at the shop to replace the bit that went bad.

Just tonight I refilled it and found that the fill valve isn't closing fully so it has a continuous leak. The little adjustment knob also cracked and is a bit if garbage now because it can't engage the splines in the valve. Because of the way the valve is pressed into the gas reservoir I can't seem to extract it to see how to fix it. 

With so many unrelated failures I can't chalk the deficiencies of this lighter up to getting a lemon. The whole thing is a POS.


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## HombreDeBarco (Mar 6, 2013)

Nobody can say that you did not give it a fair chance...


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## horton21 (Aug 9, 2012)

I've had good luck with Xikar lighters, although have not used them very heavily.


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## henjg124 (Dec 16, 2012)

When I began the cigar hobby years ago I bought a Colibri and it lasted a few months. Now I prefer the Ronson Jetlite, hell I've been using the same one for several years and it still works like a charm. I've also been diggin that orange torch lighter than you can get at Harbor Freight for like $8.


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## orion1 (Sep 18, 2012)

I have had two Colibri lighters and none have lasted more than few months. I bought 8 Ronson Jetlites three years ago and only two have stopped working. You can't beat this for the price. I also have a Xikar EX soft flame and it works well when is not windy.


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## Desmo (Feb 16, 2013)

Well, this is disappointing to read. I purchased a Maui about two months ago, and it's been working fine thus far. I hope it doesn't suffer the same results as your did. 

I did also buy a Xikar double jet a month ago.....I do prefer the Xikar over the Maui. The Maui goes on the road with me when I travel for work, and the Xikar stays back at home.


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## FireRunner (Jul 19, 2012)

I have two Xikar lighters which are normally used for small touch-ups while smoking. I have used then for lighting cigars in strong winds. My favorite is a double jet. Both have worked great.


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## Bruck (Jan 8, 2013)

Too bad you had so much trouble. I just use wood matches and spills these days. I have a torch lighter _somewhere_, and it seems to last about three lights between refillings from the can of butane which is _somewhere_. Never have any trouble keeping matches around though


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## Wicked_Rhube (Jul 29, 2012)

The couple cutters I have got from that brand have left me with a desire to go a different way. I beat the bag out of my Xicar and it works like a champ.


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## TheGipper (Jun 13, 2004)

Colibri = overpriced junk. All three that I've bought over the years died pretty quickly. Not ever going to buy a 4th.


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## KcJason1 (Oct 20, 2010)

Get a DuPont xtend... They rock!

xikars are nice but need replacing frequently..

Ronsons work well but their design is crap and the lid gets in the way of lighting cigars!


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## KaChong (Jan 1, 2012)

My current favorite right now is an Evertech lighter:

Cheap Humidors Eternity Dual Flame Lighter and Punch Cutter

Integral punch, single torch, and soft flame. I find the single jet handles wind reasonably well. The soft flame does a more even job of lighting my pipe. I wish the punch was a bit sharper, but it's serviceable. I might touch it up with one of my fine diamond sharpening stones and see if it can take a better edge.


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## henjg124 (Dec 16, 2012)

I'm just not gonna spend a lot of money on a lighter because I've had them shit out on me after a few months. My $3 dollar Ronson does just fine and I've never thought that the lid gets in the way. A Blazer is about as much as I would spend on a lighter.


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## A.McSmoke (Jan 9, 2013)

In my experience, the costly cute lighters always fail on me when I need it most. It makes me look bad in public quite often, and needs refilling damn near after every cigar when it does work.

Got a JetLine New York that is always reliable, but doesn't look as nice. I'd really have to think when the last time I refilled it. $14


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## henjg124 (Dec 16, 2012)

A.McSmoke said:


> In my experience, the costly cute lighters always fail on me when I need it most. It makes me look bad in public quite often, and needs refilling damn near after every cigar when it does work.
> 
> Got a JetLine New York that is always reliable, but doesn't look as nice. I'd really have to think when the last time I refilled it. $14


Exactly. Spending $100, $200 or whatever on a lighter is just goofy in my opinion.


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## pblanton (Dec 28, 2015)

I replaced my year old colibri with a Xikar about three years ago and the Xikar is still working fine. I smoke a pipe as well as cigars, so I got a pipe lighter and not one of those jet torches, but it's great. The Colibri was $70 for total crap.

Do Not Buy A Colibri Lighter!


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## weedsnager (Apr 20, 2015)

I had a nice colibri lighter once.....never again....sent it back to them to get fixed and it still wouldn't work right


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## SeanTheEvans (Dec 13, 2013)

I won't jump on the bandwagon of saying that any brand lights are crap, because I don't have much experience with them.

Instead, I'll say that I picked up some Ronson Jetlites for a couple bucks and am still using my original, while having plenty to spare.

The rest of my money, well- I didn't save it. I spent it on cigars!


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## Negatron (Jul 3, 2015)

A buddy of mine loaned me a Jetline triple flame to keep in my car so we aren't left without a lighter on smoke breaks. Frankly it's become my regular-use lighter, and ended up sidelining both a Xikar Axia and a ronson jetlite.
Asthetically, I prefer my Axia, but the jetline is one of those lighters that I think "jesus this thing is a champ" every time I use it. Not bad for like 15 bucks.


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